Story: So buddy and I were slashing are way up the hill through some black berries (maybe 100 yards or so from the truck) on are way to a spot we have been talking about tree stand/blind hunting some deer this fall. Are plan was to put out some bait and cameras and see if we could pattern some deer. As we reached the end of the berries at the edge of the tree line we were about 8ft below and 15ft away from the old log road. This is also where the treeline began so the underbrush wasn't near as thick to almost non existent. I was maybe 10 ft behind my buddy at the time and I see him quickly pull his Walther 40 and point up the hill in the direction of the road. The look on his face told me something was up cause his eyes were bugging out of his head like Arnold Schwarzeneggers were on Total Recall when he landed in the dirt outside the building on Mars.
I'm like what dude? He says "Frickin Cougar stareing me in the face right there on the road". I quickly remove the cotton from my sphincter and start looking but the cat had turned and retreated into the woods above us. Ofcourse now I'm pissed partly cuz my girlfriend is gonna be grossed out by my racing striped under shorts and mostly b/c I'd never seen a cat. So we climb up on the road and I start tracking the cat hoping to see him off in the trees somewhere. The log road is cut into the side of the hill so on my left as I walk up the road its maybe 7ft cut and I can't see up into the woods from where we're at. Buddy is on the phone calling his dad to tell him about it and a couple minutes go by and we start walking up the road thinking we'll never see him again. Buddy is about 20ft in front of me (as I'm still tracking and looking for a spot where I can hop up the 7ft cut and look for him) on the road and I notice movement directly to his left and above him in the trees. It was fairly clear of underbrush in this area of the trees so visibilty was not a problem and I couldn't even process what I was seeing. This cat was making a move on my buddy! I mean tale curled, hunched position and ears laid back. The cat made two creeping steps to the edge of the cut and I knew I had to do more than yell. Plus there's no way he could not have seen me aswell in the wide open. I drew and fired hoping to atleast scare him off as I really didn't take time to aim. I figurd I hit him when he went staight up about 2ft. Instantly he shot forward of the ledge at my buddy and I put another one in him when he hit the ground. This time I knew atleast one had hit the mark as he started flipping and spinning around on the other side of the road. Always amazed by how things seem to go in slow motion when that much addrenaline starts pumping. But I'm sure from when I saw him first until I put the 2nd round in him was no more than 2-3 seconds.
In talking to the Warden later he told us that the cat was about 18 months old and mama had most likely just kicked him out on his own, and he just didn't know that two leggers are not food. Also that the first cat we saw may not have been the one I shot b/c siblings will often run together for a few months or so till they grow up a little.
Just my luck I finally get to see a cat and one close enough to shoot and it's out of season. Warden says we have plenty of cats around and that they eat about 50 deer a year each. So though I feel bad about having to kill the cat for no reason other than he was still learning thats also fifty more deer I may get a chance to harvest.
